IFC announces USD 151m in financing for wind projects in Jordan

Wind turbines. Author: Chrishna. License: Creative Commons

November 8 (Renewables Now) - The International Finance Corp (IFC) announced this week two separate financing packages of USD 151 million (EUR 172m) to fund the construction of 103 MW of wind power generation capacity in Jordan.

The package for the 51.75-MW Abour project near the town of Tafila includes a USD-28-million loan for IFC’s own account and parallel loans from the Islamic Development Bank for a total amount of up to USD 80 million. Abour Energy Company, a joint venture between Xenel International and AMEA Power, is building the wind farm.

Thie Abour transaction was structured by IFC as an Islamic Finance Ijara transaction, its first in renewables in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The World Bank member also provided the swaps for the financing package.

The other financing package is of USD 71 million for the 51-MW Daehan Wind Power Plant in the southern governorate of Tafila. This is a USD-103-million project of Korea Southern Power (KOSPO) and Daelim Energy.

A loan of USD 10 million for the scheme is coming from the IFC, while the international financial institution also mobilised parallel loans of USD 27.7 million from Standard Chartered Bank, USD 26 million from the Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Program (MCPP), and USD 8 million from Shinhan Bank of Korea.

IFC said it also structured a USD-26-million equity bridge loan, its first in project financing, for Daehan. In addition, it will provide interest rate swaps for half the financing package.

To date, IFC has invested more than USD 300 million in 13 renewable energy projects in Jordan. It noted that when it comes to wind projects, is has been working to reduce their impact on birds in the flyway above Jordan -- an important migratory path for many bird species. IFC engages different stakeholders, including private operators of wind farms in the area, to assess potential negative impacts on biodiversity on a region-wide basis and agree on coordinated measures to mitigate them.